The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Mozambique insurgency fuels fears of humanitarian crisis and regional insecurity
Escalating conflict linked to an insurgency in northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee and will likely prolong crisis levels of food insecurity there, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday.
More than 310,000 people have sought shelter in southern and western districts of the gas-rich province, while many thousands have fled into the neighbouring provinces of Nampula and Niassa, WFP spokesperson Tomson Phiri told journalists in Geneva.
“The number of displaced people has tripled over the last few months amid growing insecurity,” he said. “Also, many of those that we have been assisting, either in Cabo Delgado, in Nampula, in Niassa, they have nothing but WFP food assistance.”
The situation is linked to an armed insurgency that began in 2017, WFP said, amid reports that Islamic extremists continue to hold key areas in the gas-rich northern region, after attacking a number of towns in recent months.
These have caused loss of life and severely damaged infrastructure that was already severely affected by cyclone Kenneth in 2019, the UN agency noted.
Highlighting concerns that regional security risks being compromised by the insurgency, Mr. Phiri added that there were ongoing clashes and that “these armed groups are linked definitely to some terrorist organizations”.
Thousands more Mozambicans “have also fled as refugees into (Tanzania’s) neighbouring Tabora district and others…deepening concerns among the international community about the regionalisation of this conflict”, he continued.
Apart from alarming levels of food insecurity in Cabo Delgado – where more than one in two children under five is chronically malnourished, above the 43 per cent national average – there are additional concerns about coronavirus transmission.
“Cabo Delgado….currently is recording the second highest number of COVID cases in Mozambique. And population displacements have the potential to accelerate the spread of the virus,” said Mr. Phiri.
Despite “major operational challenges”, WFP is working to reach displaced people in Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Niassa, including those “stranded” in highly insecure areas facing “crisis” levels of food insecurity.
Today, WFP provides food assistance to nearly 200,000 people in the province.
The UN agency is stepping up aid to reach more than 300,000 people, but it has warned that without continued funding, assistance may have to be cut.
“If the situation does not improve beyond December, WFP will be forced to even suspend assistance and that is a situation we do not want to go,” Mr. Phiri said. “It costs us $4.7 million a month, we need $142 million between now and February, those are our needs.”
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying, a beautiful day.
- Wide shot, podium with speakers in a near-empty Room XIV in line with COVID-19 distancing measures, Palais des Nations, UN Geneva.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, spokesperson, WFP (World Food Programme): “The number of displaced people has tripled over the last few months amid growing insecurity. Also, many of those that we have been assisting, either in Cabo Delgado, in Nampula, in Niassa, they have nothing but WFP food assistance.”
- Medium shot, cameraman filming, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, spokesperson, WFP (World Food Programme): “There is fighting and these armed groups are linked definitely to some terrorists organizations, I’m not too sure which ones exactly, but what I can tell you right now is that it is indeed an insurgency in northern Cabo Delgado.”
- Medium shot, journalist sitting in front of laptop, touching her face mask, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, spokesperson, WFP (World Food Programme): “Thousands of Mozambicans have also fled as refugees into neighbouring Tabora district and others, and this is deepening concerns among the international community about the regionalisation of this conflict”.
- Medium shot, journalist sitting in front of laptop, using listening device, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, spokesperson, WFP (World Food Programme): “Cabo Delgado, as some of you may know, currently is recording the second highest number of COVID cases in Mozambique. And population displacements have the potential to accelerate the spread of the virus.”
- Medium shot, journalist listening, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, spokesperson, WFP (World Food Programme): “If the situation does not improve beyond December, WFP will be forced to even suspend assistance and that is a situation we do not want to go.”
- Medium shot, journalist listening while touching his face mask, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, spokesperson, WFP (World Food Programme): “It costs us $4.7 million a month, we need $142 million between now and February, those are our needs.”
- Wide shot, showing an almost empty room, with some journalists and UN staff members in the audience, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- Medium-wide shot, showing podium with WFP speaker, with UN logo behind, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- Close-up, hands typing on laptop, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNFPA
The UN in Lebanon appealed for an additional $331.5 million on Friday to help 1.4 million people in crisis as already massive needs continue to grow, three months after deadly violence erupted between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL
UN Security Council meets amid rising Israel-Hezbollah tensions in Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the biweekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesperson made the following remarks deplored the death in State custody of Brooklyn Rivera in Nicaragua.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Lebanon: Tyre hospital strikes leave patients without critical care – WHO
The UN health agency in Lebanon is verifying reports of strikes on a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday, amid a concerning rise in attacks on healthcare in the country.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
El Niño confirmed, extreme weather events will be more intense, says WMO
The UN urged all countries on Tuesday to bolster early warning systems after confirming the onset of El Niño, warning that the Pacific Ocean-warming phenomenon will bring above-average temperatures “nearly everywhere” and fuel more extreme weather.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘A disease you get when you care for someone’: on the frontlines of the Ebola crisis with WHO
Two weeks into the latest Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) is estimating that there are 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including 223 suspected deaths.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on 29 May called for more robust measures by both states and tech companies to make online platforms safer for children, insisting on effective regulation, oversight and accountability. The digital world that connects children to learning, community and creativity also expose them to real risks, to their safety, to their privacy, and to their well-being. Online harms to kids’ safety, privacy, and well-being are not innate or inevitable.
See High Commissioner video: https://media.un.org/unifeed/en/asset/d357/d3579089
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , WHO
Gaza: Life-saving medicines blocked as killing continues, disease gains ground
In Gaza, a dire humanitarian situation marked by continuing violence, rodent infestations and the spread of diseases is being made worse by blockages of essential medical supplies, UN agencies warned on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo, warned against the continuing trend of involuntary returns of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers from host countries to Afghanistan, in violation of international human rights and refugee law, at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OHCHR
Lebanon's first responders face high risks amid conflict, with 116 killed since March.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC Ebola outbreak: hundreds of suspected cases, no vaccine
A fast-spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has health workers rushing to stop transmission while the roll out of any potential vaccine is months away, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.